Who Should I Start? Kaleb Johnson or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Friday, November 7, 7:59 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson was going as a late-round flier with upside in fantasy drafts this fall, but he was quickly sent to the waiver wire. The 22-year-old third-rounder out of Iowa has been a distant third on Pittsburgh's RB depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell this year, and he didn't help himself with a costly special-teams blunder early in the season. So far through his first five NFL games, Johnson has handled only 15 rushing attempts for 40 yards (2.7 yards per carry) while catching one of his two targets for nine yards. He played five offensive snaps in last week's win over the Indianapolis Colts, which was actually an improvement after not playing at all the previous two games. It will take an injury to Warren or Gainwell for Johnson to get more involved, which means he's only stash-worthy in fantasy football in dynasty/keeper leagues.

Saturday, November 8, 11:11 AM

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has struggled over the past four games, totaling just 157 yards on 51 carries and no touchdowns. Croskey-Merritt's 3.1 yards per carry ranks sixth lowest among running backs with at least 25 carries in that span. That comes after a five-game stretch to begin the season where the rookie seventh-rounder was one of the best stories in the league, averaging a league-best 6.6 yards per carry and a ridiculous 72.1% success rate. Croskey-Merritt also owned the second-highest explosive run rate (15+ yards) at 11.6% in that time, but has not generated a single explosive run over the past four weeks. With third-year back Chris Rodriguez Jr. coming off his best game of the season against Seattle and being named a team captain for Sunday's matchup against the Lions, Croskey-Merritt may cede more work to Rodriguez. With a lack of involvement in the pass game, Croskey-Merritt finds himself in low-end RB3 territory for Week 10, ranking as RotoBaller's RB33 in PPR leagues.